Boiler-feed apparatus.



Re. 672,863. Patented July 9, v190|.

w. E. GIBBS.v

solLEn FEI-:u APPARATUS.

(Applicstiog tiled June 19, 1900.)

(No Model.)

Maiz/www4', fave/Zion'- UNITED STATES yPATENT QFFICE.

VILLIAM Ef GIBBS, OF FANWOOD, NEV JERSEY.

BOlLER-FEED APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 677,863, dated July 9, 1901.

Application iiled June 19,1900. Serial No. 20,800. (No model.)

.To all whom t may con-cern.-

Be it known that l, WILLIAM E. GIBBs,a citizen of the United States, residing at Fauwood, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Boiler-Feed Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

In boilers of small capacity, which are subject to frequent and considerable fluctuations in the demand upon their steam output or exhaust-such, for example, as boilers used in automobiles-great annoyance and loss are occasioned by the water-level in the boiler falling below the required point. To guard against the boiler running dry or even becoming dangerously depleted of Water, it is necessary that the feed slightly exceed the demands made upon it by the steam-exhaust; but such action unaccompanied by provisions for discharge of surplus water would lead to the opposite evil of encroachment on the steam-space. Hence the necessity that with such automatic feed be associated an automatic overflow.

The object of my invention is to maintain the water-level constant in such boilers and involves, first, the automatic feeding of the water to the boiler in slight excess to the demand upon the boiler, and, second, the automatic withdrawal of excess water. To this end I connect the boiler feed-pu mp up in such manner as to supply water in excess of the normal demand, preferably regulating it from the throttle-lever, so that excess of steam consumption to meet increase of load will corresponding vary the boiler-feed. I also arrange an overow pipe or outlet in the boiler at the proper water-level and place therein or in connection therewith a steam# trap in such manner that any overioW-water will pass through said outlet or pipe back to the feed-water-supply tank, while the absence of overflow-water in said outlet or pipe will bring the live steam into the trap and act thermostatically or otherwise to close the same.

In the accompanying drawingl have shown diagrammatically my invention applied to a simple form of boiler and engine.

A is a boiler of any preferred construction and having any desired means of heating. (Not shown.)

B represents any preferred form of engine to which steam is led by the live-steam pipe C under control of the tl1rottle-lever D.

E is the feed-water pump driven from the engine B by the mechanism F in usual manner. The said mechanism includes a vibrating lever G and slide or cross-head H, the latter connected by connecting-rod I to the plunger .I of therpump. A rod K connects the slide H with the throttle-lever D, and thus by adjusting the throttle-lever a corresponding adjustment is given to the slide H and the throw of the pump is variedin proportion to the extent of opening of the throttle. The feed-water tank is shown at L, and the pipes M and N conduct the feed-water to the pump and 'thence to the boiler. At the desired Water-level Vin the boiler is arranged an outletfor instance, a pipe 0-which leads to the feed-water tank and which has in it a contracted passage P, controlled by the valve Q,

and thermostatic rod R, ixed by spider S iny said pipe. It will now be seen that by setting the pump connection so that the pump will-normally feed to the boiler a slight excess oi feed-water over that which passes o in steam any overiow of such water passing down through the pipe O will by its lower temperature contract the thermostatic rod R and open the valve Q sufficiently to allow such water to return to the feed-water tank; but in case of extra demand upon the output of the boiler in excess of the normal water will cease to ow through said overow and steam having access to the thermostatic steam-trap will close the valve by expanding the rod- R until the pump hasrestored the normal Water-level.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a boiler-feed apparatus in combination with mechanism adapted to automatically maintain/the supply of boiler feed-water in excess of the demand upon the boiler, au overflow at the water-level in the boiler .and a steam-trap in said overflow for the automatic discharge of any surplusage of said feed-water, substantially as set forth.

2. In a boiler-feed apparatus the combination of a boiler, an engine, a boiler-feed-Water pump, means for controlling the supply of IOO steam from the boiler tothe engine and means, operated by said controlling means for controlling'the feed-water supply automatically in substan tially fixed proportion to the steamsupply, and means for the automatic discharge'of water in excess of that required to maintain the desired level, substantially as set forth.

3. In a boiler-feed apparatus the combination of a boiler, an engine, a boiler-feed-water pump, means for controlling the supply of steam from the boiler to the engine, an overiiow at the normal Watenlevel in the boiler, and means operated by said controlling means for the supply of feed-water in slight excess of the exhaust of steam from the boiler, and means for controlling the overflow of excess Water from the boiler, substantially as set forth.

4. In a boiler-feed apparatus the combination of a boiler, an engine, a boiler-feed-Water pump, means for controlling the supply of steam from the boiler to the engine, an overiow at the normal Water-level inthe boiler, means controlled by excess Water in theboiler for regulating said overflow, and means operases erated by the steamsupply-controlling -meansl for maintaining the feed-Water supply in excess of the steam-supply, substantially as set forth.

5; In a boiler-feed apparatus the combination of a boiler, a feed-Water pump, an operating device therefor, a throttle-lever controlling the engine steam-supply and connect; ed-to and adapted to simultaneously control said operating device s0 as to supply feed-Water in substantially fixed proportion to the exhaust of the steam from the boiler, an overlioW-p pe in the boiler and a steam-trap controlling said overfiow, substantially as set forth.

6. In a boiler-feed apparatus the combination of a boiler, a feed-Water tank, a feed-Water pump of variable delivery, an overflowpipe leading from the Water-level of the boiler to said feed-Water tank and a steam-trap in said overflow-pipe, substantially as set forth.

XVM. E. GIBBS.

Witnesses:

HARRY E. KNIGHT, J. GREEN. 

